Town of Warwick
Selectboard
January 22, 2013
Minutes
Members present: Dawn Magi, Patricia Lemon, Nick Arguimbau
Others present: Town Coordinator David Young (arrived at 6:35 pm), Town
Secretary Rosa Fratangelo Calcari, Paul Daniello (Mt. Grace Land
Conservation Trust), WiredWest Representative Reva Reck, Finance
Committee: Rick Abbott, Kevin Alden, Eric Engman, Bill Foote, Kelly
Jones (arrived at 6:35 pm after meeting upstairs with the Town
Coordinator), Jon Calcari
I. Call to Order
Chair Magi called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm in Town Hall.
Public Comment
None.
III. Minutes
Lemon MOVED that the Board approve the minutes of January 7, 2013.
Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0.
IV. Presentations and Discussions
1. Mount Grace Land Trust--Paul Daniello of the Mount Grace Land
Conservation Trust (MGLCT) presented the Board with copies of the two
Conservation Restrictions (CRs) on the Manring and Jay properties.
Daniello said that the CRs were recorded on both parcels on January 31,
2012. He explained that the CRs were currently assigned to MGLTC, and
that the next step was for the Board to execute the CR assignments to
the Town. Once the funds have been released by the Forest Legacy
Program, MGLTC will record the assignments to Warwick. Daniello noted
that the Conservation Committee had already executed their documents.
Lemon MOVED that the Selectboard execute documents assigning the Jay and
Manring CRs from MGLCT to the Town. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED
3-0-0.
Daniello asked Board members and Chair Magi to sign his Notary Journal,
and all complied.
2. WiredWest --WiredWest Representative Reva Reck had drafted a letter
to be sent to households that had yet to respond to the WiredWest
interest cards (roughly 70%). Patricia Lemon also had drafted a letter
to send out with the appropriate number of cards for each property the
resident or landlord owns. Reck and Lemon have a list of people who have
signed and returned cards, and have worked off the Assessors' list to
identify the residents to target with their letters. Reck noted that
there had been one mass mailing based on the Assessors' list, with all
other publicity being conducted through the newsletter and the "L".
Reck asked for a letter signed by the Selectboard and printed on
Town letterhead, with clearly defined language, because other
WiredWest towns have elicited a greater response from such letters.
Arguimbau expressed reservations that elicited objections from a
local businesswoman who said that she could not legally do business
without broadband access to the internet. During this discussion,
Magi and Lemon were reviewing the draft letters in an attempt to
make them more concise.
Magi said that the goal at this point was to receive enough signed
cards to indicate enough interest to be included in WiredWest's next
steps. She pointed out that signing a card did not constitute a
commitment, but rather only a demonstration of serious interest in
this type of internet service. Magi said that she would rework the
letter to five or six bulleted points. Reck said that the most
important points were that this is not a contract, not done on the
Leverett model, and that a signature indicates interest only and not
a definite commitment.
Young suggested that volunteers go door to door with cards in hand.
Reck said that other towns have been very successful in using a
letter from the Selectboard, and she felt that, given the mailing,
in person contact would be unnecessary.
Lemon MOVED to authorize the Chair to sign the letter. Magi SECONDED.
Motion CARRIED 2-0-1. Lemon and Magi: AYE; Arguimbau ABSTAIN.
Young noted that Fire Chief Ron Gates, who was scheduled to appear
before the Board tonight, had a Fire Department meeting to attend
and would be present at the next Selectboard meeting.
3. FY14 Budget --The joint meeting of the Selectboard and Finance
Committee began with Young going over the current draft of the FY 14
budget. He said that this budget assumes a 2.5% pay increase for most
employees, but not for the Board of Health, Selectboard, Tree Warden or
Building Inspectors. He noted that the Reserve Fund remained at
$20,000.00. He pointed out that the Tree Warden's budget includes
increased line items for roadside cleanup and expenses increased due to
the increase in the necessary work.
Finance Committee member Eric Engman commented on the decrease in
the Highway Department line item for fuel. Young explained that
conservation measures and lowering the thermostat had led to a
decrease in fuel oil consumption.
Young said that he has proposed an additional line item in the
Treasurer's budget for outside investment services. He noted that
there is a similar line item for payroll services. And he felt that
the firm that does the investing should have a separate line item.
He noted that this would benefit the Scholarship Committee.
Young said that the Library budget reflected an increase, mostly
because there is no longer any state aid for the purchase of
materials, and that the Library must maintain certain Federal
standards for purchase of materials to lend so residents will remain
eligible to use the facilities of other state-supported libraries,
such as the Boston Athenaeum.
He also noted that the Recreation Committee will likely request an
increased budget.
Young said that the last payment on the Highway Department's heavy
duty truck will be due in FY 14, and noted that there were no other
capital expenditures foreseen for this budget.
Finance Committee member Rick Abbott said that this was a good
start. The Fin Comm and Coordinator will meet with the Treasurer to
discuss the investment services line item.
4. Housing Rehab Loan Administration Contract --Young explained that
DHCD had negated the Town's attempt to contract with the Town of
Greenfield for administration of CDBG program income and grants. He
recommended that the Board vote to sign up with Franklin County Regional
Housing Authority with the provision that all unrestricted funds be
returned to the Town. He pointed out that the Housing Authority had
issued a check to the Town for unrestricted funds in the amount of
$11,784.00 from an FY97 CDBG Housing Rehab loan.
Lemon MOVED the Selectboard sign the proposed one-year contract with
FCRHA with the proviso that any unrestricted money gets returned to the
Town. Arguimbau SECONDED. Motion CARRIED 3-0-0.
5. 250th Anniversary Celebration--Young requested that the Board issue
the 250th Anniversary Committee a one-day beer and wine license for the
February 16th Grand Ball.
Lemon MOVED to issue a one day beer and wine license to the 250th
Anniversary Committee for February 16, 2013 event. Arguimbau SECONDED.
Motion CARRIED 3-0-0.
6. Selectboard Reports-- Lemon said that she plans to attend the FRTA
meeting on Wednesday, January 23, 2013. She noted that it would be the
first meeting in the new building.
7. Coordinator Report --Young said that he has begun writing a report
each month for inclusion in the Community Newsletter.
V. Adjournment
At 7:52 pm, Lemon MOVED to adjourn the meeting. Arguimbau SECONDED.
Motion CARRIED 3-0-0.